This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for database searching and retrieval, and more particularly for methods and apparatus for clinical database architecture database document searching and retrieval.
Documents in a clinical environment must be stored and retrieved from a defined storage area, such as a central clinical database. In at least one known clinical document architecture (CDA) storage and retrieval system, documents can be given attributes, the attributes can be given values by users, and the documents with their attributes and values can be stored in the database. Stored documents can later be searched for using their attributes and attribute values. However, the known CDA storage and retrieval system is limited to a fixed set of attributes and static attribute values (e.g., fixed text and numbers). This limitation can decrease the efficiency and overall productivity of users because several searches may be required to retrieve the document or documents the users are seeking.